This invention relates to mufflers and particularly to mufflers which include structure for fluid treatment in addition to structure for silencing. Catalytic converters for treating automotive exhaust gases are available in a variety of configurations. Although such devices are commonly provided as a separate unit in addition to the usual muffler, it is known to provide a combined muffler and catalytic converter unit as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,196, for example. Such a device is also disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 737,129 filed Oct. 29, 1976 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,903, assigned to a common assignee.
To achieve efficient conversion of CO and HC it is necessary to provide secondary air upstream of the converter. In some instances, this air is supplied by an air pump which, of course, adds significant cost and some loss of energy. Perhaps the simplest way to add air is with a venturi. However, the amount of air drawn in by a simple venturi varies considerably as engine speed varies and is quite low at idle speeds where the mixture is usually richer and requires, proportionally, much more air than at faster speeds. This characteristic generally obviates the use of a simple venturi to add secondary air to the exhaust of an automotive engine. However, where idle speeds are relatively high and running speeds are not greatly higher, such as in lift truck applications, a simple venturi could be expected to provide sufficient secondary air to achieve satisfactory conversion. It is known in the prior art to add air upstream of an ordinary converter with a venturi. In such devices, there is usually ample distance between the venturi and catalyst so that adequate mixing of the air and exhaust gases can be achieved. Furthermore, there is little backpressure in such devices to decrease the efficiency of the venturi. However, an attempt to position an exhaust inlet and venturi quite close to a catalyst element in order to achieve a compact space package can result in a very substantial loss of conversion efficiency due to poor mixing of the secondary air with the exhaust gases.